is this if you have it enabled in the kernel or as a module?
also, this is slightly off topic, but can you get bootsplash on the dev-kernel? I tried but couldn't figure out which option was needed_________________There is no substitute for experience.
Imperfection indicates a lack of effort.

tips for NVIDIA users:
2. make sure you have "desktop-buffer-mode=backsystem" in your .directfbrc this will speed up XDirectFB ALLOT!

Where EXACTLY ?

I added this to my ~/.dfbserverrc file, but it didn't change anything(still slow as hell), and if i add it to the end of the "/usr/X11R6/bin/XDirectFB..." line, I get an error saying that "desktop-buffer-mode=backsystem" is an invalid option.

its impossible to save which application should be transparent.
I think it uses the highest resolution or if you use vesafb in uses the resolution and refresh rate you booted with, again man directfbrc explains how to change the resolution.

Am I supposed to uninstall xfree before installing xdirectfb? That's the only unusual thing I can think of off the top of my head; if one is a 'replacement' for the other, maybe I need to uninstall the other. I don't want to wait the hours for xfree to rebuild if I'm wrong, though.

Honestly though, after two attempts I'm getting rather blah about the whole thing. Another issue which isn't DirectFB-related is that the rivafb driver has a stupid cursor problem on the text console, which is known and fixed in 2.5.x but hasn't been patched into 2.4. Argh!

Edit: Just a thought actually. I'm on rc5, maybe rc4 didn't have the problem?

i'm thinking about installing xdirectfb, what kind of speed impovements are you guys seeing from this? minimal at best, or are you shocked at the responsiveness of your system? also has anyone noticed stability problems? I dont mind a little working setting it up, but if its not stable once i get it setup....

It worketh! I tried it before but was unable to get it to work - I would get the light blue screen with the funky cone-shaped cursor but could do nothing but move it around and kill the server in that state. The reason for this might have something to do with the fact that I use the Windows key for window manager hot keys in evilwm, but XDirectFB uses it for opaqueness control (if it's not documented... well... I'm going to have to have a look at the modifier mapping of X. All I remember about it is that it's extremely weird.). Anyway, I'm going to try it out with IceWM or some other window manager now..

... BTW... is it normal that I can't ctrl-alt-fX out of XDirectFB?_________________<laurentius> gentoo linux?
<ari> Yesh.
<laurentius> they look horny

- there are some quite strange bugs in XDirectFB. Starting xterm from IceWM's menu started two of them at a time. No, I don't know why. Accessing menus in Mozilla Firebird is a bit hard - in fact, basically impossible with the mouse. They just flicker and disappear. Fortunately, with the keyboard it's quite easy. Also, placing the cursor somewhere inside a text area without highlighting text seems to be impossible. It's as if the server couldn't tell the difference between a click and a drag.
- it feels fast. Both in a positive and negative sense. In the positive sense, response to everything is clearly quicker. In the negative sense, things that normally would be clearly visible now flicker in and out of existence way too quickly to be reacted to
- interestingly, the most visible change was in the startup speed of Mozilla Firebird. I've used X11 apps over SSH connections so I'm sort of aware that it does take quite a lot of discussion between the client and the server to get an app visible on the screen... but I couldn't guess that this would apply so strongly to locally started programs

(editing new stuff in 'cos three posts in a row would be a bit too much...)

I decided to try out XFCE4 within XDirectFB, as per ebrostig's thread in Gentoo Chat about how much it rocked. The results are quite interesting. I'm unable to move windows around and trying to resize a window blanks the screen. It's still fast, though. Unfortunately... fast but not quite usable. I added vt-switching to the configuration file and found out why it isn't "done" yet - although I could still see the stuff in my terminals, they were weirdly coloured (and overcast with a greenish pattern of some sort). I hope this gets fixed soon, since then I will be able to turn my computer into a high-performance Antidesktop... running eleven virtual framebuffer terminals (at least eleven - perhaps even more for rainy days) for screen, ssh, emacs, irssi, top, cplay, emerge, etc. and XDirectFB for Mozilla Firebird. And when the DirectFB port of GTK+ matures enough, no X at all._________________<laurentius> gentoo linux?
<ari> Yesh.
<laurentius> they look horny

I decided to try out XFCE4 within XDirectFB, as per ebrostig's thread in Gentoo Chat about how much it rocked. The results are quite interesting. I'm unable to move windows around and trying to resize a window blanks the screen.

Hmm, I'm using xfce4 too and I have that problem. I guess I'll have to ask the xfce guys about that then.

I'm having the same problem. I emerge xdirectfb, no executable when done. I tried unmerging xfree, and removing all x-related files from /usr/portage/distfiles and trying again, still no success. Can we get resolution on this? I'd sure like to use directfb.

I can't seem to be able to get transparencies to work ... shouldn't it "just work" once I load up startxdfb? I can get to my desktop (fluxbox), I can pull up a terminal, but it's not transparent ... I can run LinNeighborhood, but it's not transparent, either.

1) How do I enable XVideo?
2) How do I find out what my framebuffer base address is?
3) How do I enable XFree86-DRI?
4) How come I get no /var/log/XFree86.0.log file when running startxdfb? (I get one with normal startx)
5) Is there something I need to do to turn transparencies on? Cause they just aren't working.

I know my framebuffer is working as I am running in 1024x768 with super small text and a logo on top of the kernel boot sequence... but that's about all I know =\_________________http://get.a.clue.de

I'm having the same problem. I emerge xdirectfb, no executable when done. I tried unmerging xfree, and removing all x-related files from /usr/portage/distfiles and trying again, still no success. Can we get resolution on this? I'd sure like to use directfb.

Did you be sure to add fbcon to your use flags in make.conf? That might be the problem.

edit: I still haven't figured out why on my system whenever I drag a window in XDirectFB the whole screen goes black, and when I stop dragging it goes back to normal. Anybody have an idea? :\

I had the same problem. You must emerge the latest DirectFB.

Ari Rahikkala wrote:

I decided to try out XFCE4 within XDirectFB, as per ebrostig's thread in Gentoo Chat about how much it rocked. The results are quite interesting. I'm unable to move windows around and trying to resize a window blanks the screen.

I have a similar problem. When ever I try to move or resize a window the screen goes black. Weird._________________Postcount ++

does anyone know if xdirectfb will function with gdm ? and if not will it work with kdm? i would like to set up teh xvnc terminal server using directfb cause it would allow poeple to see what fb looks liek before trying it out... thanks,

I have read just about every post there is about XDirectFB and, after being convinced in can cohabit with xfree, decided to give it a shot.

I wasn't expecting much, due the number of problems reported. And I tought I had to go set a ton of configuration files and all.

Quite suprisingly, it started Gnome on the first shot! So, Xfree without Xfree. Interresting. I was impress, but not enough to switch completely.

The only app (of the few I tried) I could not use was gdesklet. I tried glxgears (soft render), Eterm, Realone, gaim, evolution and mozilla. They all worked.

But, I have to disable gpm (how does Quingy manage to not be disturb by it?), I can't switch vt, double click is insamly too fast (one click is taken as two), performance is very dodgy (smoothness very susceptible to cpu usages by other processes), and it eventualy nothing respond (clicking whatever does nothing, not even focus).